As we head into the 2014-2015 season, the most important player on the Providence roster is also the program’s unluckiest.

Twice in the span of 18 months, Kris Dunn has undergone surgery on his right shoulder. The first time came at the end of his senior season in high school, a procedure that kept him out until December of his freshman season. As a sophomore, Dunn reinjured the shoulder during a preseason scrimmage, missed the first three games and returned for four games before, again, being shut down for the season and undergoing surgery on the shoulder.

And here’s the kicker: the injuries are in two different spots in his shoulder. In other words, he didn’t aggravate the first injury last season. He simply suffered a second debilitating injury in the same joint.

“It is a fluke on where it happened, because the injury is in a different spot in the same shoulder,” head coach Ed Cooley told the Providence Journal at the time of Dunn’s second injury.

Dunn is still working his way back from the injury at this point. While he’s able to get back out on the court and shoot the ball, the former McDonald’s All-American from New London, Conn., has yet to be cleared for contact drills. Providence will be making a trip to Italy to play three exhibition games this month, and the decision has already been made that Dunn will not be playing on the trip.

His role this season is incredibly important as the Friars are not only looking for a way to replace the production they get out of All-American Bryce Cotton, but the only other point guard on the roster is freshman Kyron Cartwright.

“I feel great. I’m back on the floor with the fellas and everything is starting to come back to normal,” Dunn told the Providence Journal. “I do a lot of shooting. I’m not restricted at all. I’m in a very good state of mind. Just getting back on the court is a great thing for me and my family. I’m starting to feel like I’m a player again.”